St Helen's Catholic Primary School
St. Helen’s Catholic Primary School are looking for a dedicated, inspiring Teacher to join our friendly team. Full details are on our website https://st-helens.southend.sch.uk/about-us/our-school/staff-vacancies The closing date is Friday, 17th March midday and interviews will be on Monday, 27th March. Please contact Mrs Sears on 01702 343823 for a visit to our school.
Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School & Nursery
If your child is eligible to attend Nursery, please clink on the link below to find more information about Our Lady of Lourdes School Nursery
Second Sunday of Lent
Dear friends in Christ
Commenting on the Gospel of the Transfiguration on at Mass this Sunday, St Bede says: Our Lord in a loving condescension allowed Peter, James and John to enjoy for a very short time the contemplation of the happiness that lasts forever, so as to enable them to bear adversity with greater fortitude.
Dear friends in Christ
Commenting on the Gospel of the Transfiguration at Mass this Sunday, St Bede says: Our Lord in a loving condescension allowed Peter, James and John to enjoy for a very short time the contemplation of the happiness that lasts forever, so as to enable them to bear adversity with greater fortitude. We can presume that the memory of those moments with Our Lord on the mountain helped them through the many trials ahead. Our existence on earth is a journey towards Heaven, our ultimate goal. It is a journey that is often harsh because we live in a world and in a body that experiences all of the trials that constitute this life. But God strengthens us with the hope of Heaven; and in a particular way during the most difficult times. The thought of the glory that awaits us should act as a spur in our daily struggles. Nothing is of such value as gaining Heaven: and always bearing in mind this determination to die rather than fail to reach the end of the way. If God ever causes you to suffer from thirst as He guides you through this life, it is because He will give you drink in plenty in the next life, without any fear of it ever failing you (St Teresa of Avila).
When we participate in Holy Mass, we also go up the mountain in a similar way to the Apostles. There we hear God speak, we respond in faith, see Him present in His glory and receive Him in the Blessed Eucharist. This is the simple action of what happens at Mass. Again, like the Apostles, we do not live seeing Jesus in His glorified state, but in those rare glimpses we do have, we are given a foretaste of what eternal life will be like.
God bless you!
Msgr Kevin Hale
Second Sunday of Lent
Sunday 5th March
Second Sunday of Lent
Liturgy:
Readings Year A
The Apostles’ Creed
Preface of 2nd Sunday of Lent
5.30pm Vigil Mass The People of the Parish
6.30-7.30pm: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Confessions
8am Mass Albert Thomas Cook, RIP (MC)
9.30am Mass Intentions of Joseph Murphy (SM)
11.30am Mass Intentions of Tony & Janet Weale (JW)
4pm Mass Peter Griffin, RIP (FM)
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction
Monday 6
Feria
9am Mass Marie Fitzakerly, RIP (JL)
Tuesday 7
Feria
9am Mass Anthony Hayes, RIP (MR)
Wednesday 8
Feria
9am Mass Bernard Ward, RIP (Anniv) (MW)
Thursday 9
Feria
9am Mass Alice Hole, RIP (D&RL)
Friday 10
Feria
12noon Mass Tom O'Callaghan, RIP (Anniv) (RO’C)
7pm Way of the Cross & Benediction
Saturday 11
Feria
10am Mass Intentions of Monica Swanton (AS)
10.30-11.30am: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Confessions
Sunday 12 March
Third Sunday of Lent
5.30pm Vigil Mass The People of the Parish
6.30-7.30pm: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Confessions
8am Mass Intentions of Rita O'Callaghan (UH)
9.30am Mass Dec'd Parents, Brothers & Sisters of Canon Gilbert, RIP (FM)
11.30am Mass Mervyn Calton, RIP (Anniv) (RC)
5.30pm Vespers & Benediction
We Pray for the Dead on their Anniversaries
Fr Malachy Kelly, Canon Joseph Whitfield, Fr Thomas Lawton, Fr John Gordon, Fr Edmund Meyer, Fr Maurice Roche, Mgr Canon David Michael Corley, Bernard McCarthy, Ena Bartley, Mary Smith, Doris Conner,Danielle Sutherland, Sandra McGran, Philip Thomas, Anthony Conlon, Hannah Harris, Johnathan Grindley, Granley Rumsey, John Stephen Burke, Miss Sydney Compton, Edward Baigent, Elsie Killman, Janet Harris, Malcolm Cheshire, Teresa Ramsey, Henry Delaney, John Button, Constance Ryan, Joyce Quinn, Pamela Jones, Peggy Chopin, Vincent Ingham, Christopher Tyler, Joe Swann, Tom O’Callaghan, Theresa Ketterer, Joseph Collins, Lionel Clarke, Richard Young & Margaret Houston.
We Pray for our Sick
Paul Watts, Christine Reid, Rose D’Souza, Jimmy & Pauline Martin, Ben Dench, James Fegan, Muriel Matthews, David Lesley, Kenneth Biebuyck, Zach Stokes, Andrew Stokes, Noel Conroy, Marjorie Jay, Paul Sutton, John Murphy, Mary Monaghan, Jennifer Biebuyck, Moira Scott, Jill Yates, Leonora Maguire, Brian Mountier, Renata Butler, Margaret Bartle, Tony Downey, Kristy Monferrari, Fred Ring, Ian Irwin, Russell Short, Marie Kharas, Garry Pearman, Patricia Ann Darroch, Patricia Vanner, Amy Louise Fox, Sarah Savage, Bill O’Connell, Janet Weale, Charlotte O’Neil, Ella Williams, David Kislingbury, Mark Shepherd, Eileen Bines, Breege McCaffrey, Mark Hartley, John Lavery, Paul Keane, Rosemary Bragard, Pat Lynch, Ben Wilson, Christian Ryan, Tina Doveaston, Addi Brady, Patricia Fleming, Nicky Wigmore, Rose Craft, Patricia Spikin, Sandra Fagan, Edna Wallace, Beryl Dixon, Nick Evans, Vicky Jack, Mary Boyce, Kristin Hallenga, Anne O’Neill, Cheryl Shallis, Justin Stark, Sheila Netherton, David Blyth, Janet Woods, Lynne Hilkene, June Moncaster, Laura & Anne Breen, Breda Lynch, Maria Clark, Roy Widdecombe, Johanna Lynch, Anthony King, Norma McCleverty, Belinda Balazsi, Johnny Pool, Edward Martin, Joanna Luciani, Pauline Wilsher, Simon Marshall, Kriston Barnes, Hugh Isaacs, Dawn Deleigh, Lorraine Hart, Linda Dean, Georgina Cornwell, Antonella McConalogue, Sharon Levill, Annie Holland, Ivor & Joanne Knight, Brian Beresford, Rebecca Peake, Connor Bourke, Mattia Mollica, Bernadette Lane, Irena Solecki, Ianto Bellis, Marguerite Harris, Andrew Exley, Elizabeth McConalogue, Kean Smith, Keith Maliff, Bradley & children: Thomas Ball, Liam Davis, Connie Price, Albert Chambers, Fergus Grant, Mary Isherwood, Lucy Price, Frazer Gregory & baby Forest Gallagher.
Sanctuary Lamp
This week the Sanctuary lamp burns for the deceased members of the McManus & West Families.
We Pray for the Repose of the Souls of
CHRISTINE WISE RIP who died on 21st January. Her body will be received into the Church on Thursday, 16th March at 5pm and her Requiem Mass will take place on Friday 17th March at 9.30am followed by burial at Hall Road Cemetery.
MARIA FITZAKERLEY RIP who died recently. Her funeral will take place on Friday, 10th March at 10.15am at Sutton Road Cemetery Church, followed by burial at Sutton Road Cemetery.
ROY BUCK RIP who died on 13th February. His Requiem Mass will take place on Wednesday 26th April at 2pm followed by committal at Southend Crematorium.
MARTIN COVENEY RIP who died on Friday, 17th February. His Requiem Mass will take place on Thursday, 20th April at 10.30am followed by committal at Southend Crematorium.
Requiescant in pace
Dates for your Diary
Monday 6th March—Journey in Faith-RCIA continues
Saturdays 13th & 20th May—First Holy Communion Masses 10.30am
Sunday 28th May—Pentecost Sunday—Confirmation Mass 11.30am
Sunday 11th June—Corpus Christi Procession 4pm
Saturday 8th July—Flower Festival
St Vincent de Paul Society (SVP) 'Awareness Month'
The focus of the St Vincent de Paul Society is visiting and befriending people living in loneliness, isolation, or poverty. The people we visit might be the elderly, homeless, those in hospital or care homes, people with mental health difficulties or offenders. Conference members engage at ground level, face to face with the people they help. The work of the SVP requires resources, with the Society’s greatest resource being its almost 10,000 members. Across the country, the SVP is growing steadily, however we are always on the look-out for new members! Would you consider getting involved? The commitment is to attend, as frequently as you can, a fortnightly Wednesday evening meeting, 7.30 – 9.00pm, held in our Parish Centre and, ideally, making one accompanied visit a week. It is rewarding work, bringing new friendships with both other SVP members as well as those they visit. If you would like to know more about the SVP or consider joining us, please contact Francis O’Brien on 07845874331. You can also support our parish Conference financially via the SVP button on the parish website.
Deanery of Southend Lent Talks 2023
Wednesday evenings at 7pm—Eastwood Parish—St Peter’s
59 Eastwood Road North, Leigh on Sea SS9 4BX
Questions & Answers facilitated by Fr Jeff Woolnough
March 8th DVD Presentation
Dr Scott Hahn—The Eucharist in Scripture
Part One—The Lamb’s Supper
March 15th DVD Presentation
Dr Scott Hahn—The Eucharist in Scripture
Part Two—The Fourth Cup
March 22nd DVD Presentation
Dr Scott Hahn—The Eucharist in Scripture
Part Three—Consuming the Word
Lenten Reading
At the back of church the Catholic Truth Society stand has a range of small books on prayer and the spiritual life which can be helpful for Lent.
Diocesan Pilgrimage to Walsingham - Saturday 27th May
Join Bishop Alan and other parishes around the Diocese of Brentwood in Walsingham. We will celebrate Mass at the Basilica before walking the Holy Mile to the grounds of Walsingham Abbey to celebrate Vespers and Benediction on the site of the Holy House.
Flower & Craft Festival - Saturday 8th July 2023
We have begun the planning for this year’s Flower and Craft Festival. This year the theme is Parables, Miracles, and Proverbs.
We are hoping that more people will be able to take part this year, especially those who can sew or craft! The book of Proverbs and the miracles and parables of Jesus gives you a very wide scope to choose from. We have already had volunteers for flower arrangements for Jesus calms the Storm, The Feeding of the 5,000, The wedding at Cana, and the parable of the Sower.
If you would like to take part or would like more information or ideas contact me on 01702 474062, or email mcronan@btinternet.com
We would love to fill the church with flowers and crafts.
Jo Ronan
Serving the Homeless
The Annual General Meeting of Serving the Homeless will take place on Monday evening, 6th March, at 7.30 pm in St Margaret's Church Hall, Lime Avenue, Leigh on Sea. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Our next event is a Quiz Evening in St Margaret's Church Hall on 11th March, 7pm for 7.30pm. The cost is £5 per person, bring your own drinks and nibbles.
If you wish to book a table (up to 10 people) or a place with another team, please ring any Committee member or Linda Wall on 01702 558217.
Fire Marshals
We need to recruit a Fire Marshal for each Mass, this would include a one hour training once yearly and would only be required in the rare occurrence of a fire.
We need a good mix of people that attend different Masses. For more information please contact Andy Harris on 07742433589.
Repository
The Repository is situated at the rear of the Church in the old Baptistry and will be open following the 5.30pm Vigil Mass and after the 9.30am and 11.30am Masses on Sundays.
We have a small selection of cards this week for St. Patrick’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Easter. Arriving in the next 2 weeks we should have a good selection of cards and gifts for First Holy Communion. If you can’t see what you are looking for, please don’t hesitate to ask. After Easter, cards and gifts should be available in time for First Holy Communions and Confirmation.
Repository Volunteers
We are looking for more volunteers to help with the above. With enough people we can then form a Rota so that individuals need only help out on a 2 or 3 weekly basis. If interested please leave your name and contact details at the Parish Office or speak to Cynthia.
Earthquake Relief Charities
Please donate via Aid to the Church in Need or CAFOD websites.
Missio Red Box Holders
National Novena to St. Joseph 11th - 19th March 2023. See Poster at the back of Church.
If you would like to receive a Novena booklet, email novenamhm@gmail.com or send to Novena Director
6 Colby Gardens Maidenhead Berkshire SL6 7GZ. Joan Caunce, Secretary 01268 757505